


Broken Dolls

by vgsfshade6116



Series: Cogito Ergo Sum [3]
Category: Overwatch (Video Game)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Robo!Jack AU, also angst, can't forget the angst, violence against jack
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-10-04
Updated: 2016-11-30
Packaged: 2018-08-19 11:03:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,979
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8203352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/vgsfshade6116/pseuds/vgsfshade6116
Summary: Sequel to Cogito Ergo Sum. Soldier: 76 and Reaper join the new Overwatch. But things can't ever be simple, and admist the fight against Talon, Jack struggles to find his place in the team.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to SenkiroWolf and PrettyArbitrary for beta-reading this. Your help was invaluable in improving this ^^.

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Gabriel looked up from the repair job he had been doing on Jack’s back. Their old Overwatch communicators were the source of the sound, flashing softly on their belts. Jack was about to get up to answer the call, but Gabriel motioned for him to stay in his seat. Gabriel grabbed his communicator and put it to his ear.

Jack watched Gabriel carefully for his reaction as he listened to whoever was speaking. Surprise flickered over his face, followed by grimness. He clicked the communicator off.

“Who was that?” Jack asked.

“Winston,” Gabriel answered. “He’s initiated a recall of all Overwatch agents.”

The news sunk in. A recall, after the sideshow that was the first Overwatch? Was it really for the best? Could they actually do a better job than last time?

“I think…” Jack slowly said. “We should join.”

“Are you sure?”

“We’ll definitely have a better chance to take down Talon if we work with others. They’re bound to have more resources than us, they’ll almost certainly be able to do a better job fixing me up than us. And,” he bowed his head. “I have to make up for what I did.”

Gabriel placed his hand on Jack’s shoulder. “Alright. But I’m worried about the ones that don’t know the whole story, that think you’re just a traitor. They might try to junk you.”

Jack softly kissed Gabriel. “I know you won’t let that happen.”

Gabriel returned the kiss. “Yeah, I’d just rather not break the limbs of guys who are supposed to be our allies.”

Jack snorted, and stood up. “Now, let’s get ready to come back from the dead.”

“Way ahead of you on that one.”

X

As it turned out, just strolling up to the Watchpoint was not the best of ideas. As they approached the base, an arrow whizzed through the air and struck Reaper in the shoulder. Soldier: 76 started firing in the direction the arrow had come from, while Reaper wraithed up to where the archer was, leaving the arrow to clatter onto the ground. Soldier: 76 quickly scaled the wall and followed after him, and found Reaper grappling with a tattooed man who had decided to expose part of his chest for some odd reason.

“Let go of my brother!”

A familiar cyborg ninja was running towards them, sword raised. This reunion was off to a great fucking start. “Genji!” Reaper shouted. With his free hand, he took his mask off. “It’s me!”

Genji screeched to a halt. “Commander Reyes…? What the _hell_ happened to you?”

The archer took the opportunity to free himself from Reaper’s grasp. “How do you know this man, Genji?”

“That is a long, long explanation,” Soldier: 76 spoke up. On the ground, the rest of the newly-resurrected Overwatch was pouring out to investigate the commotion. “And you can hear it with the rest of the team.”

Once they were all inside, they were given introductions to the new faces on the team. Hanzo, the one who had shot at them, Zenyatta, an omnic monk and Genji’s mentor, and Lúcio, a DJ who had decided to fight the good fight. Not everyone who had already joined were there; Reinhardt, Fareeha, and Jesse were currently out on a mission to Ilios.

“Thanks for the arrow, by the way,” Gabriel said.

“I have heard of your reputation,” Hanzo retorted, scowling. “You worked with Talon, so forgive me for my caution.”

“It’s called working behind enemy lines, ever heard of it?”

“Alright!” Angela stood, arms held up between them. “This is not the time for further argument. Gabriel, what have you been doing all these years?”

Lena piped up. “And why do you look like, well…”

“Like the grave chewed me up and spat me out? Because that’s what happened, thanks to some enhancements a friend gave me. Not exactly the best choice of my life, as you can see.

Gabriel continued. “I’ve been working on taking Talon down. I let them hire me out so that I could get a feel for their methods and tactics. When they stopped, I started hitting their bases and recovering whatever intel I could get my hands on.”

“Um, if I may ask, who’s your friend?” Mei asked.

Soldier: 76 took his mask off, and gasps echoed through the crowd, either because they were horrified by the sight, they recognized him, or both. “Jack?” Lena said in a small voice. “Is that really you?”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

“Wait, Jack? As in Jack Morrison?” Lúcio said. “Weren’t you the one who blew up Overwatch the first time?”

“Yes,” Jack clenched his fists. “Talon hacked into me and forced me to destroy the base.”

Hanzo eyed him suspiciously.  “Then how do we know that will not happen again?”

Gabriel stepped protectively in front of Jack, but Jack stepped past him, hands up in the air. “Because I’ll let you make sure I won’t.”

Gabriel watched after Jack as he left the room with Torbjörn and Winston. His eyes met Ana, who smiled. “Welcome to our motley little crew. You two will fit right in.”

X

Torbjörn stepped back from Jack, and pulled his welding mask up. “Done. I’ve done the best job I can with what we have now.”

Jack got off the bench and stretched his limbs. Already he felt a lot better than he had in five years. “Thanks, it’s great not being so stiff anymore.”

Torbjörn rummaged around his workbench, and pulled out pack of artificial skin. “Now I just have to make you look presentable.”

“No.”

Torbjörn raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“I don’t want my face fixed. It’s a good reminder.”

The engineer shrugged. “Alright, but don’t be surprised if people start screaming whenever they see you in public.”

“That’s why I wear a mask,” Jack went over to Winston, who had been patiently waiting for Torbjörn to finish his repairs.

“Are you really alright with giving me access to your AI?” Winston asked.

“I am.” Jack took a seat. “I don’t want to risk Talon turning me against you. Never again.”

Winston nodded and adjusted his glasses. “I just wanted to make sure I had your clear consent.” He took a cable and plugged it into Jack’s head. “Does that feel uncomfortable?”

There was a tickling sensation throughout his whole head. “No, I’m fine.”

“Okay,” Winston began typing, looking through Jack’s entire code, and correcting any errors he could find. “Athena, layer Jack with the best security protocols you can.”

“Affirmative.”

“Winston,” Jack suddenly said.

The scientist glanced away from the screen. “Yes?”

“If Talon does manage to take over me again...you have my permission to use whatever means you can to stop me.”

“Well, hopefully, things won’t ever reach that point.”

“I’m serious. I want to make sure that you guys will be able to do something against me, unlike last time.”

There was an uneasy silence. “You want a self-destruct option,” Winston said flatly.

“If that’s what it takes.”

“I’ll...see what I can do,” Winston said awkwardly, going back to work.

The atmosphere became uncomfortable. Jack was glad when Winston finally stepped back from the console and removed the cable. “I’ve done what I can to fix up and protect your AI. At the very least, Talon will have a difficult time hacking into you again.”

Jack stood. “Winston, I really can’t overstate how thankful I am for this. Thank you so much.”

Winston smiled slightly. “You’re welcome.”

Jack left the lab. Gabriel was there, waiting for him. They took each other’s hands and headed to their new room.

Tomorrow would be a very busy day.


	2. Chapter 2

“Are you out of your mind?!” Gabriel shouted. He and Jack were out in the hall.

Jack sighed. “I knew you would react like this…”

Gabriel threw his arms up into the air. “After all the crap we’ve been through, you’re thinking of blowing yourself up!”

“It’s not like I already have a bomb inside me! And it’s supposed to be a safeguard! I’d rather die than let Talon use me again!”

“Well there has to be a better way than you exploding! I already lost you once, I’m not losing you again!”

Jack rubbed his forehead. “Fine, I’ll talk to Winston to see what can be done. But I’m still going to have the self-destruct, it’s just going to be a last resort. So that if Talon does turn me against you again, someone can push the button and stop me.”

Jack ignored Gabriel’s mutterings about how much of a stubborn ass he was and pushed open the door that led out of the housing section of the base. As he did so, they were greeted by a shout, and a pair of large, familiar arms scooped them up into a bear hug.

“I was told that you two had arrived!” Reinhardt boomed. “It is good to see you two again!”

Jack turned away from a faceful of chest and gasped for air, even though he didn’t need to breathe. He caught sight of McCree, who was grinning and snapping pictures. Gabriel shot McCree a look that plainly said “I’m going to murder you later.”

Finally Reinhardt let them go. “Ah, reunions with old friends, it brings a tear to my eye. But, over the last few days, I have worked up quite the appetite! Let us catch up over breakfast! We need to have energy in order to help others, after all.” The former Crusader clapped them both on the back before heading for the cafeteria.

Jack suddenly felt very self-conscious. The people who had come to Overwatch all, in one way or another, had hope for the future. They believed they could help change the world for the better. But him? He was a tired, worn-down soldier who wanted revenge. He stuck out among them.

Actually, had he ever really belonged with these people in the first place?

X

After breakfast, the whole team was gathered for briefing.

“We confirmed the presence of Talon in Ilios,” Fareeha reported. “They were attempting to infiltrate one of the archaeological sites. We were able to repel them, though we did end up causing some damage to the site…”

“Main thing I’m wonderin’ about is what Talon wants with a bunch of artifacts.” McCree leaned back in his chair. “There’s not much interestin’ about old pots.”

“Probably looking to sell them to a rich collector. Talon’s always looking for new funds,” Gabriel said.

Winston cleared his throat. “Thank you for your report, Fareeha. Now, onto other business at hand.” He opened several news reports on the holo-projector. “There’ve been several high-profile thefts from the Vishkar Corporation. Known Talon agents were spotted at the scene of the crime. Whatever Talon wants with Vishkar’s hard-light technology can’t be good. So we’re going to keep them from getting their hands on more.”

Ana raised her hand. “There’s one problem with that. We have no idea which Vishkar building they’re going to hit next.”

Gabriel chuckled, drawing everyone’s eyes. “Looks like you guys are lucky we joined when we did. Jack and I recovered a lot of intel from Talon over the last few months. We have quite a few of their plans.”

Jack handed over the drive containing the data to Winston, who had Athena analyze it. Once she found the relevant data, she pulled up a world map and marked the location: Dorado, Mexico.

Lúcio blew out some air. “Man, stopping stuff from getting stolen from Vishkar...we’d pretty much be helping those guys.”

“We’ll make the mission two-fold,” Winston stated. “Not only will we be preventing Talon from obtaining what they want, but we’ll recover any data that can help expose Vishkar’s crimes.

“Genji and Reaper will be in charge of the data retrieval. Genji for his skill and experience in infiltration, Reaper because he can bypass most security systems.

“Lúcio and Soldier: 76 will stop Talon from acquiring Vishkar’s technology. Soldier: 76 has enough firepower to stop any Talon agent in their tracks. Lúcio knows what the inside of Vishkar’s buildings looks like, and can guide him through it.

“You’ll be heading out in 24 hours. Rest up and prepare yourselves!”

X

So far, things had gone smoothly. Genji and Reaper had successfully infiltrated the building and were now headed for the server cluster in the basement. After disabling the alarms connected to the windows, Lúcio and Soldier: 76 entered the R&D wing of the building, which was filled with labs, testing areas, and the latest in 3D imaging technology. Oddly enough, the latter pair hadn’t seen any guards on the entire floor.

Jack was listening to Genji complain about how cold the server room was over the comm when Lúcio spoke up. “So, you were actually a robot the entire time?”

“Yes,” he replied curtly.

“So like, you were one of Overwatch’s secret projects? They made a robot that looked like a human?”

“You’re wrong there, kid. Overwatch didn’t make me. Talon did. Blackwatch found me and decided to put me to good use.” He was aware that he may have been being rude, but he never liked talking about his origins.

“Oh…” Lúcio bit his lip. “Talon made you, then forced you to blow up Overwatch...that must have been horrible to live with.”

The vigilante sighed. “I made a lot of mistakes. I’m trying to atone for them now.”

Genji came on. “We’ve extracted the data. How are things on your end?”

“No trouble yet,” Lúcio answered. “We haven’t met any guards or Talon guys.”

“Alright, meet us at the rendezvous point in 15 minutes.”

“Gotcha.” Lúcio closed the comm.

Jack rounded the corner, and stopped. “I think I know why we haven’t run into any guards this entire time…”

It was a gruesome sight. Dead guards were haphazardly strewn across the floor, the walls coated in their blood. Something had maimed them. One had his eyes gouged out. Another had a hole punched through his torso. Another man’s face had been so badly mutilated that it was impossible to tell what he had looked like.

Lúcio’s breath hitched. “Man… Nobody deserves to die like that, not even Vishkar guys. Who could have done this?”

Before Jack could answer, something invisible punched Lúcio in the stomach. The audio-medic slumped to the ground, wheezing. Jack whipped around, and saw a flicker in the air. He opened fire on it, and a woman suddenly appeared, the glass on her helmet shattered by his bullets. Jack guessed that she was the Talon agent, and judging by the briefcase strapped to her back, she had already gotten what she had come here for.

The agent fired her own weapon, and Jack stepped in front of Lúcio to shield him. He opened the comm. “I found the Talon agent! She already has the tech!” he shouted into it.

Reaper shouted something back, but Jack didn’t catch it, attention occupied by the firefight. This lady wasn’t a good shot; most of hers went wild.

Except she hadn’t been aiming for him. Her bullets struck the alarm box on the wall, and the alarms started blaring. Jack saw the Talon agent smirk, and as her cloak reactivated, she tauntingly waved at him before she completely vanished.

Jack helped Lúcio to his feet. “You alright?”

“I’ll be fine, just got the wind knocked out of me, that’s all.”

Then Vishkar guards burst onto the scene. Jack realized that they were still by the pile of murdered guards.

“This isn’t what it looks like!” Lúcio shouted.

Jack grabbed him by the arm and pulled him away as the guards took aim. “Time for us to get out of here, kid.”

They ran for it, going down the stairs towards the lobby. The guards filled the stairwells, blocking the way as they fired their guns.

“Get behind me,” Jack said. Lúcio obliged and fired at the guards with his Sonic Amplifier, knocking them out of their way. Jack covered for them both as they headed down, tanking bullets coming their way while he shot any guards that so much as glanced in their direction.

“We really would appreciate some help right now,” Jack said into the comm.

“We’re on our way!” Genji answered.

They reached the lobby. “Let me,” Lúcio fired a blast of sound at the glass wall, shattering it. Jack activated his tactical visor as they jumped through, landing in the courtyard. It locked onto the guards there, and he fired his pulse rifle, cleanly taking them all out.

Then the ground shook. A panel slid aside on the floor, and a giant omnic came into view, rising up from underground. “Fuck,” Jack cursed.

The 20-foot tall omnic raised its Gatling gun arms and fired at the two. They dived in separate directions and took cover behind statues. The omnic’s bullets easily tore the stone apart.

 _This cover’s not gonna last long_ , Jack realized. _And Lúcio’s won’t either if this thing focuses on him. I’ve got to draw its attention..._ He slowly moved out from behind the statue, enough to make himself a tempting target. Then he bolted out into the open.

It worked. The omnic swung its guns as it tracked his movement. Jack ran away from the courtyard, out into the streets, and it followed him. Thankfully there wasn’t much traffic tonight. As soon as they were far enough away that the omnic wouldn’t notice Lúcio, Jack stopped. He aimed at one of its arms, and fired helix rockets at it. They hit and exploded, completely disabling the weapon.

The omnic fired at him with its other gun, but Jack was much faster than a normal human. He nimbly dodged the waves of bullets, making it waste them. Soon enough, the thing ran out of ammo entirely. Jack took the chance to unload into it, emptying clip after clip. But then the omnic crouched down, and its back rockets fired. Before he could get out of the way, it rammed into him.

The impact knocked Jack’s pulse rifle out of his grip. But he wasn’t helpless. He grabbed onto the omnic, and dug in his heels. They soon came to a halt, even though the omnic’s rockets were still firing. Jack tried to push it back…

And his own body failed him. His knee gave out under the strain he was putting it under, and he fell. The omnic ran him over, and he lay there, stunned. It then stepped on him and pushed down. The concrete cracked under him, and Jack could feel his parts creaking under the thing’s weight. He struggled to pull his hands free so that he could at least try to push back against it...

A cloud of black smoke appeared right next to the omnic. Reaper appeared, firing his shotguns into the omnic’s shell. The force was enough to make it stagger away from the android.

“ _Ryūjin no ken o kurae!_ ” Genji charged forth, an ethereal green dragon around his blade. He moved so fast, Jack had trouble keeping up with him as the omnic was slashed into pieces.

Lúcio skated up to them. “Dude, your leg!”

Jack sat up, bits of concrete falling loose from him. He examined his leg. His knee had been completely blown out, and bits of metal were poking out of his skin. The rest of the limb was hanging loosely from the joint. He gingerly poked it, and even though it didn’t cause him any pain, he could tell the damage was pretty bad. Torbjörn wasn’t going to be happy about having to fix him up again. Still, he wasn’t about to let it stop him. “Can you guys help me splint this?”

“Jack, _your leg is a fucking mangled mess!_ ”

“Yes Gabe, I can tell that much.”

Reaper grumbled as he grabbed some pieces from the omnic’s remains. He tore off strips from his cloak, then bound the metal to Jack’s leg with the cloth. He helped Jack stand, supporting him.

On the transport back, Reaper yelled at him some more. “You jackass, you need to learn how to be less reckless! You’re not fucking invulnerable!” Jack stayed silent as he was admonished, knowing that Gabriel was simply concerned for him.

Meanwhile, Lúcio was staring at Jack’s bound leg with a guilty look. Jack had tried to protect him, and he had gotten damaged for that. They would have to talk about that later.

Genji on the other hand was more flippant. “I’ve lost limbs as well. After the first few times, it really loses its novelty.” That remark earned him a glare from Reaper.

As Reaper continued to scold him, Jack’s thoughts drifted back to the Talon agent. Something had been odd. The way she had looked at him…

It was like she had known him.


	3. Chapter 3

Torbjörn finished fixing Jack’s leg and stepped back. “Lad, promise me you’ll avoid damaging your limbs, I’ve got enough work on my plate as is.”

Jack considered his luck. In all likelihood he’d probably be reduced to a limbless torso at some point. “I’ll do my best.” 

Jack was about to get off the workbench when someone knocked on the door. It was Winston, and he was carrying some equipment with him. “Jack, I’m ready to install the...contingencies.”

Jack lay back down so Winston could get to work. He wasn’t exactly comfortable about the fact that he could now be blown to pieces, but what else could stop him if he were ever compromised again? “Have you decided who’s going to have access to the big red button?”

“I haven’t yet, but I’ll be handling it beforehand.” Winston grabbed a tool and opened a panel on Jack’s back. Torbjörn assisted the gorilla in his work.

“Well, I have some advice for you. Make sure it’s not Gabriel.”

Winston was surprised. “I thought you would want it in the hands of someone you trust.”

“I know Gabe. He’d never be able to push it.”

Winston said nothing. “Don’t be so sure of that.” Torbjörn said. “He had no problem turning you off more than once back in the good old days.”

Jack thought back to the day he had learned the truth. That look on Gabriel’s face, as though he were torn on what to do… Jack shook his head. “I’m sure. He wouldn’t work.”

Torbjörn shrugged. “Whatever you say, lad.”

X

After Jack’s modifications was the debriefing. Their little escapade had made the news, and Jack winced at the reminder of how half of the mission had failed.

“Last night there was a break-in at the Vishkar Corporation’s Dorado branch,” the anchorwoman reported. “In addition to stealing experimental tech, the perpetrators murdered several guards. They have been identified as the DJ Lúcio Correia dos Santos and the vigilante Soldier: 76.” Their headshots appeared on the screen. “Vishkar has promised to apprehend them the next time they strike, and announced plans to improve security at the rest of their branches…”

“At least they didn’t mention Overwatch,” Lena commented as Winston switched off the screen. 

The scientist folded his hands on the table. “Jack, Lúcio,” his tone wasn’t angry, just questioning. “Can you tell us what happened?”

Jack sighed. It was embarrassing to give a recap, but he had to. “We were able to sneak into the R&D department without incident. However, the Talon agent had already gotten there and taken the tech. We encountered her and tried to stop her, but she escaped.”

“She socked me in the gut,” Lúcio mentioned.

“Can you describe the agent in question?”

“Black jumpsuit, helmet, and she could turn invisible.”

Winston grimaced. “Porcelain. Some of us have already run into her.” He pulled up an image of her on the holo-projector, and footage of the museum attack, showing her shooting at Winston. “We don’t have much information on her, sadly. But it seems that Talon has enhanced her somehow, giving her advanced strength and speed.” On the screen, she backflipped away from Winston, then kicked over a mech suit, sending it crashing down.  _ That was a bit dramatic _ , Jack thought.  _ She clearly likes to show off. _

Gabriel put his hand on his chin. “Porcelain… I’ve never worked with her, but I’ve heard a lot about her. Namely that she’s a sadistic bitch.”

Jack’s thoughts went to the mauled guards, and how Porcelain had managed to smile in spite of what she had done. “Yeah, I can definitely see that.” Her brutality was simply disgusting.

“She just went above and beyond killing those guys!” Lúcio remarked. “She gouged their eyes out! Who does that?!”

Winston nodded. “Thank you, that will be all for now. Genji, Gabriel, did you successfully retrieve the data?”

“We did, as a matter of fact,” Genji said, handing over the drive with a little flourish. 

Winston took it. “I’ll get to work on decrypting this right away. Alright everyone, that’s all for today!”

Everyone got up to leave. Lúcio walked up to Jack, looking a bit worried. “Hey, you alright man?”

“Lúcio, I’m fine,” Jack tried to reassure him. “See?” He showed him his fixed leg. “No lasting harm was done.”

Lúcio bit his lip. “It’s just that you kept that Omnic from squishing me. Not that I’m not grateful for that, but you got squished in my place.”

Jack placed his hand on Lúcio’s shoulder. “That’s not something you should apologize for. And besides, it’ll take a lot more than an Omnic tank to kill me.”

Lúcio slowly nodded. “Right… Thanks again, man, for saving me. Though I hope you don’t have to save my skin too often. I don’t want to be the team’s load.”

“Hey, you’re not a load. You’re a valuable member of this team.” Jack promised to himself that he would protect Lúcio and the rest of the team as needed. Unlike him, they couldn’t be repaired so easily. They had a worth that he didn’t.

Lúcio smiled. “Thanks, Mr. 76.”

X

A few weeks had passed since the Vishkar mission. Lúcio had made a few calls since then, and now, Hana Song had come to join them.

The day she arrived, the entire base was abuzz. Several people had already asked her for her autograph, and she was happily drinking in all the attention.

“I remember when you were playing Shadow Of Mordor and the four Uruk captains and their underlings all rushed you, and you killed them all! That was sick!” Genji gushed.

“Um, I once donated to you. SnowMaiden35,” Mei said.

“I remember you!” Hana winked. “It was greatly appreciated.”

Jack and Gabriel watched the pilot and the crowd gathered around her. “A newcomer gets greeted by her fans. Meanwhile us veterans get shot at,” Gabriel observed. 

Hana spotted them and pointed. “Hey, who’re the two masked guys brooding in the corner?”

“That one’s Soldier: 76. He’s the team’s moody android. The guy with him is Reaper, our local edgelord,” Genji explained. 

Gabriel flipped the cyborg off, to which Genji only chuckled.

“What’s with the masks?”

“Trust us kid, you’ll sleep better at night not knowing what we look like under them,” Gabriel told her.

“Hey! I’m not a kid!” Hana crossed her arms. “I’ve been in battle already!”

“Save the talk,”  Jack said. “Prove yourself out there, that’s what matters more.”

“Hey, I may be younger than the rest of you, but I’m still a soldier.” She had a determined look. “You should already be giving me some respect.”

“Respect is earned,” Gabriel said. “Jack is right. Show us why you should get it from us.”

Hana sniffed and turned on her heel. “She’s fierce, I have to give her that.” Jack whispered to Gabriel.

“She reminds me of Jesse, back when I first took him under my wing. She’ll learn how things work around here.”

Jack nodded, looking after her. He couldn’t forget, she was going out into life-or-death situations like the rest of them. And at her age…  He made a note to keep an eye on her.

X

_ Deadlock Gang hideout, Route 66: _

Adrian Sanchez was the type of thug you’d expect to be the leader of the Deadlock gang. Bald with tattoos crisscrossing his scalp, scars were slashed across his face, and he was not short of ornamentation. He was wearing a gold cross on a chain, his leather jacket was studded, his pants had a silver chain, and to top it off, his belt buckle was emblazoned with his own initials. 

Sanchez sneered at the man standing across from him. “There has to be a catch with your deal.”

The Talon captain gave him a cool look. “It’s only a favor for a favor. You help us take what we want, and Talon helps restore the Deadlock Gang’s glory and notoriety. Pardon me, but presently you are viewed as a bunch of has-beens.”

That was true, no matter how much Sanchez hated to admit it. Ever since Overwatch had cracked down on the gang several years back, the Deadlock Gang was greatly short on resources and manpower. No one really took them seriously. More than once Sanchez had gotten a scar for trying to disabuse people of this notion, but his efforts didn’t make a difference by the end of the day.

Sanchez leaned forward in his chair. “Yeah? Well, I don’t trust you guys to actually deliver on that ‘help.’”

The captain gestured to one of his lackeys. The lackey was holding a briefcase, which he set down on the table. He opened it, revealing neat stacks of cash. 

Sanchez took one stack out and examined it. None of the serial numbers were sequential. He looked back up at the captain. “So, what’s this favor you guys want?”

The captain grinned. “It has come to our attention that the U.S military is storing an experimental EMP bomb out here in the desert…”


End file.
